What we call kung pao chicken

This is a dish that me and my roommate really enjoy…I found the recipe online on a blog somewhere out there, but I lost the site after the first time I made it ) : … A few weeks passed by and we really craved the lost recipe of the “kung pao chicken”, so I kind of just winged it (wung? forgive me my brain is sleepy), remembering most of the ingredients that it had called for and then just kind of adding in what I thought the measurements were. However, I really don’t know how authentic this recipe is — while googling trying to find the old recipe, I found some other ones and they were slighhtttly different. But, I like it. Oh, also, this is not for the weak of tongue (or belly); it is spicaaay! Really as spicy as you want it to be…

When it comes to a full boil begin adding cornstarch slowly stirring constantly.

The longer version:

First you get your chicken breast and hya! hya! it. yeah. I went there. *cough* Ok, so the recipe originally calls for cubing of the chicken, but I was being lazy so I just left it whole. And then you add some peanut oil, I really didn’t measure, it was mostly just covering the chicken, maybe a 1/4 to 1/2 cup tops(just eyeball it). Then I added several splashes of soy sauce, about… 1/8 cup, about an 1/8 cup rice wine vinegar, some salt and some oregano and bas–WHAT! oregano and basil, blasphemy~… Well, I happen to like oregano and basil on my chicken no matter the cuisine, so if you want to add it, go ahead, but it you don’t want any, that’s fine too. I should also probably mention that if you are cubing the meat, I usually put it in a relatively large ziploc bag and kinda shake it up, squish all the ingredients together. This needs to marinate for atleast 20 mins. In that time you could make your angelhair pasta, or some awesome steamed rice. (the noodles with the sauce really are good though…)

In the meantime I usually chop, mince, cry all over the veggies. In this case I’m using an inch of ginger (yes, an inch… I found that strange at first, but really it makes sense), one jalepeno, 3 cloves of garlic and most of one onion, the first three are minced and the onion chopped to your liking. The two key tastes will be the pepper and the ginger though, so make sure those are present. Sometimes I use serrano, sometimes chile, it just depends on what mood I’m in. The ginger should be skinned; I usually just lop off all the sides and square it all off. (I’m only telling you this because I wondered the first time I started cooking with it)

Throw some peanut oil in your pan (only a little to wet it) and heat it up on medium. When it’s hot, put in the onions and a cloves worth of the garlic. Saute for 30 seconds – minute, add chicken. When both sides look slightly seared, you can turn the heat down a bit and let it cook through (I turn mine down from 6 to 3 or 4) Take the chicken out and let it rest somewhere while you make the sauce. If there’s a lot of leftover grease I usually drain most of what won’t be absorbed. Saute the rest of the garlic, ginger and jalepenos, for 30 seconds – a minute.

Now add the ground cayenne pepper, I usually keep sprinkling until my nose bleeds and then add a few more. It should atleast give a reddish tint to your veggies.

Then add a 1/2 cup of soy sauce and a 1/4 cup sugar. It should look all nice and red at this point. Turn up your oven to med-high and boil the concoction. When it comes to a full boil begin adding cornstarch slowly stirring constantly. It has to be boiling if you are adding the cornstarch, that’s what activates it and it needs to be incorporated slowly and stirred constantly to prevent very unappetizing clumps in the sauce. The amount depends on how gelatinous you want your sauce to be. I added several spoonfuls. And there it is! bellissima *moi* (Note- I doubled my sauce recipe in that pic)